Interviewing for a job teaching yoga will depend a lot on where you are interviewing. If it is at a family gym or a YMCA, the standards for certification to teach generally will not be very rigorous. Interviewing to teach yoga at a high-end health club or at a yoga studio will require more credentials, as these places generally have stiffer requirements for teachers. This is not surprising: the pay rate differs widely, too. Teaching at a family rate gym, a yoga teacher may be paid as little as $12 per class to start, while at a high-end health club, that rate may be $75 to $85 for an hour. Pay rates at yoga studios may be based on the number of students in the class and a base rate. Your certifications and years of experience teaching will also dictate how and where you interview.
- Begin by knowing the demographic. If you are a newer teacher, teaching at gyms will give you experience, albeit at a very low-paid rate. You stand a better chance of interviewing at family gyms and actually teaching there.If you are setting your sights on teaching at a high-end health club, you will probably need at least 2 years of experience and at least 200 hours of a basic teacher training credential from a well-regarded yoga school.Teaching at yoga studios and yoga schools are at the top end of the spectrum, and these places will usually have the most rigorous standards: perhaps 300- to 500-hours of training and a minimum of two years experience and in some places, a dedicated following of students that will turn up at your classes.
- Do your homework. Attend several classes of the most popular teachers at the places where you want to teach. Learn firsthand why a certain teacher has very packed classes. Experience the different styles and ways classes are formatted and the different types of people who attend them.Learning who the club members are (Baby Boomers? Gen X? Retired wealthy?) will give you a sense of what kind of yoga you can offer them and what skills you have that you can highlight for your prospective employer.
- Determine what your strongest assets are. If you are very athletic and enjoy leading people in very challenging advanced classes, you might consider gyms first. If you are interested in teaching beginners with painstaking detail, a yoga studio is probably a better choice. If you are very new to teaching, start at a family gym and get some basic teaching experience
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- Draft a yoga resume. Include all your training, workshops attended, the hours of each certification, references and your current teaching schedule. Include CPR and First Aid certifications if you are interested in teaching at gyms or with children at after-school programs.If you are new and are not teaching yet, consider teaching several of your friends every weekend, so that you can get a list of students that you can list as client references. Do this before going on interviews, so that you realistically have some actual teaching experience to discuss with your prospective employers.
- Highlight any specialized training. If you are a mother of three, mention that if you are interested in teaching a Mommy and Me yoga class. If you are a serious athlete, suggest you teach a class geared to athletes at the gym. If you have any specialized training in injury prevention, rehabilitation or are certified to teach Pilates or have a serious dance background, also include these details.
- Dress professionally. If you are going to teach a sample 15 to 20 minutes for your interview, dress in long yoga pants and clothing that is not revealing. Do not wear a top that will reveal a great deal of cleavage and do not wear skin-tight shorts or tops: this is not professional.
- Maintain a friendly, cordial and professional demeanor. As with any job interview, arrive 10 minutes early, check your appearance in the restroom before meeting the interviewer and bring your printed resume neatly folded in a sealed envelope. Do not be overstay your welcome. Be considerate of your interviewer’s time. She may be seeing several people that day. Ask for her business card, and always thank your interviewer with a friendly smile and direct eye contact.
- Follow up with a thank-you email or a thank-you fax that very afternoon. There are legions of yoga teachers in nearly every city who are looking for work. If you have less than two years experience of teaching, interview at gyms where they tend to always need teachers.
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